Speaking Topics

THE TECHNOLOGY EXPLOSION AND THE FUTURE OF CRIME

A self-driving car is being packed with explosives and programmed to be a remote-controlled bomb — no suicide bomber needed. Someone is using a drone with video cameras, microphones and GPS to stalk your daughter. Your biometric data is being collected whether you want it or not. You need to be thinking about the security of your data, because once a thief has it you can’t replace your fingerprints or your DNA. 3D printing will make it possible to counterfeit almost everything, from drugs and guns to designer clothing and jewelry. All of these situations are already possible with today’s technology. What about the technology of tomorrow? Although the explosion in technology will produce tremendous benefits, it will also create entirely new types of crime. Now is the time to create new strategies and laws to combat crimes of the future.

THE INTERNET OF THINGS: TECHNOLOGY RISKS WHEN EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED

Your father’s pacemaker has just been hacked and his heartbeat is dangerously high. Control of the car being driven by your wife is intercepted by a hacker miles away, who decides to slam on the brakes while your wife is driving on a high-speed freeway. You are using your new smart home controller to make online purchases and conduct banking transactions, but someone else has access to all of the data being transmitted. Millions of new “smart” devices will always be watching and listening to everything you say and do. Industrial sensors, connected vehicles, medical devices, fitness trackers, security systems and cameras have already been hacked. How will this technology affect your privacy and personal security? It will change crime and investigations forever in ways that nobody has imagined.

THE DARKNETS: WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW

There are underground networks where any type of drug or weapon can be purchased and the transactions can be difficult (if not impossible) to trace. Credit card and bank account data, counterfeit currency, medical records, and even assassins are available for purchase. Human trafficking and child pornography can also be found, along with tutorials for committing any type of crime. We call these networks Darknets, and we’ll show you how they work and explain how they are being used by criminals and terrorists all over the world.

UNTRACEABLE LINKS: CRIMINALS COVERING THEIR TRACKS USING TECHNOLOGY

Can you catch an invisible crook who leaves no evidence or clues? Technology now provides new tools and techniques for criminals to cover their tracks. Services and apps providing private and secure communication are now more widely used and are growing in popularity. Some of these apps send messages that self-destruct and are never stored on a server. New “mesh” network apps allow all mobile devices running the app to create their own network, and users can communicate without using the Internet. Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) give users the ability to look as if they’re located in more than two places at the same time. Many of these new apps and services have built-in encryption. To increase your chances of finding people and evidence, you need to learn about how crooks use this technology to create these untraceable links.

VIRTUAL CURRENCIES AND INVESTIGATIONS

What if there were an easier way to launder money or hide it? Virtual currencies like Bitcoin are being increasingly used in both the real world and in virtual worlds to transfer funds and to purchase almost anything imaginable — both legal and illegal. Most of these virtual currencies can be converted back into real-world currency in any country. They have been used to transfer and launder funds across international borders and to fund terrorism, yet there are almost no laws or enforcement in this area. Few law enforcement agencies and investigators know much about virtual currencies, and there is no consistency in how international law treats this new technology. “Following the money” in an investigation will now be much harder…if even possible.

If you could go to a new world where you could be anyone you wanted to be, would you go? What about instantly changing your looks, physique and personality into someone completely different? Virtual reality technology can let you live experiences that have never before been possible. The line between the virtual world and the real world is blurring. Research is showing great psychological benefits from the technology, from managing pain and PTSD to psychotherapy. There are virtual worlds where a person can live a parallel life…complete with a career, family and home. What we used to think of as online games has evolved into something much larger and more sophisticated. People will have multiple identities in these virtual environments, and every type of real-world business will also exist in numerous virtual worlds. Will real-world laws apply or only the hosting company’s terms of service? How will legal jurisdiction be decided, and who will investigate virtual crimes?

THE MOST DANGEROUS THREAT TO YOUR DATA AND PRIVACY? YOUR MOBILE DEVICES

Did you know that the mobile app you just installed gave the developer permission to upload your contacts, read your text and email messages, and track your location? Your brother’s phone has been infected with malware, and a group is using his mobile banking app to drain the funds from his bank account, while changing the data on his screen to show only the expected transactions and balances. Most people aren’t aware that connecting a device to unsecured public Wi-Fi can give an attacker access to confidential business and personal data. Malware can seize complete control of a mobile device. Mobile device apps and malware are creating new victims every day. Are you one? Let us show you how these threats work, and what you can do to minimize your risk.

BRING YOUR OWN DEVICE PROGRAMS AND MOBILE DEVICE FORENSICS

How do you conduct an investigation involving personally-owned mobile devices? Some of these may be the property of outside contractors or vendors. Can you preserve the data on these devices without violating the individual’s personal privacy? Organizations with BYOD programs frequently do not think about the possible problems this can cause for investigations and litigation matters. New mobile devices appear on the market daily, and could be involved in your investigation. Digital forensics tools can’t keep up with the ever-changing operating systems, the new secure apps that provide end-to-end encryption for voice calls and messaging, or the use of encryption to protect any physical access to the device’s data. Because there is no one forensic tool that can extract and preserve every type of electronic evidence from every device, you need to understand the complications this can cause for your investigations.

COSMOS COMPUTING

You have been assigned to investigate multiple cloud computing providers along with several possible suspects. All of the individuals involved use more than one personal cloud service. Cloud computing creates challenges for investigators because the electronic evidence is now fragmented and stored by multiple service providers, with different computing platforms and in other countries with different legal systems. To complicate things even more, there are companies developing satellite platforms to provide Wi-Fi communication capability to the entire planet from space. If the evidence is stored on a satellite, how will you get it? There are new distributed networks being developed that will break any computer file into small pieces, each of which is encrypted, and the pieces scattered across every device connected to the network for storage. The days of finding a complete data file stored on a single device are over, and will demand new types of investigators with specialized skills and new tools that don’t exist today.